Pricing Your Work 4

Costs

The March/April/May 2011 Rug Hooking Magazine includes an article "Accepting a Commission" by Maddy Fraioli. (pages 68-73).  In her article, Maddy writes about knowing how much time it takes you to complete a rug and the amount of wool you use in each one.  This is information I don't have.  Most of my hooking is done in the evenings and I use as much wool from my stash as it takes to complete the piece.  I don't keep track of either, and by doing so I don't have exact information to calculate the value of my rug.

Maddy suggests hookers measure off 6" x 6" squares and hook each in a different cut (#4, #6, #8, #9, #10) being sure to keep track of the time that it takes to complete each square and the amount of wool needed for the hooking.  These time studies will give you an accurate labor time for a square foot of hooking (multiply each recorded time by 4) and a precise measurement of the wool you use. A hooker needs to only run the time studies for the cuts she or he usually uses.  Hooking a rug in a wide cut would take less time than a fine cut with intricate shading, therefore, the cost for a primitive rug would be less per square foot.

Maddy says that she does not want to change the costs of her rugs to meet the geographic or economic market. She wants to charge what she feels is a fair price that reflects her skill, experience, and fine materials.  She writes that she would want $25 an hour in labor cost. Other hookers may charge a different per hour wage as their needs and expenses may differ.

Ms. Fraioli also provides a pricing worksheet in her article:

Basic Price:     

                        Hourly wage per square foot based  

                        on your time studies per cut                ______
Type of design:
                         Original design. Add $16.00              ______
                         Purchased pattern. Add pattern
                         cost plus "up charge"                           ______

Type of Wool:  

                         Custom-dyed wool. Add $29.50          ______

                         Purchased as-is wool. Add $16.50       ______

Type of shading: 

                         Intricate (75% fine cut) Add $18         ______

                         Intricate (50% fine cut) Add $10        ______

                         Medium cut (#5 to #8) Add $8.50      ______

                         Wide cut (#9, #10) Add $7.50             ______

Sculptural Hooking: 

                         Add $18                                                   ______

Aesthetic, Quality, and Difficulty:

                         Add, depending on cut, up to $75       ______

Finishing:

                         Add $45                                                   _______

Price per Square Foot:

                         Add all the lines                                    ______

Number of Square Feet:

                         Inches of width x inches of length

                         divided by 144                                      _______

Total Price of Rug:

                        Multiply the price per square foot

                        by the number of square feet.               _______      

Now I need to do the time studies in cuts #3 to #8 as they are the cuts I normally use.  Whether or not I choose to ever sell a rug, it's important to have an idea of the market and insurance values.